The Definitive Bill Evans on Riverside and Fantasy tracks more than two decades of recordings by a highly influential figure in jazz piano. "It would be difficult to think of a major jazz pianist emerging after 1960 who did not take Bill Evans as a model," says jazz journalist Doug Ramsey, who wrote the liner notes for the 25-song collection that begins in the mid-1950s and ends in 1977. "Indeed, many seasoned pianists who preceded Evans altered their styles after hearing him."

What's more, "Evans had a profound effect on how musicians play jazz and how listeners hear it," says Ramsey. "He is so much a part of the jazz atmosphere that many musicians - regardless of instrument - who came of age in the 21st century are not conscious that his concepts helped form them."

The collection also gives proper attention on the second disc to Evans's Fantasy-era recordings of the mid-1970s, says Phillips, who also produced the Evans collection. "Because the Riverside sessions are so acclaimed and so legendary, the Fantasy tracks are often overshadowed," he says. "But in listening to this collection, you realize that Evans was still creating some amazing recordings throughout the Fantasy period with some high-caliber musicians, like Eddie Gomez, Kenny Burrell, Lee Konitz, Tony Bennett, Ray Brown, and Philly Joe Jones."